July 4, 1999
"Theodore, why did the bride tell me she'd rather have had the wedding yesterday, but they had to work with your schedule?"
"Isn't it cool that they moved their whole wedding for me?" Theo asked his mother figure.
"You and I both know you spent all day yesterday flying around the grounds at Malfoy Manor."
Theo's smirk met Narcissa's tired gaze, "I bet you could guess what else I was doing."
"I did assume that you didn't learn your lesson, yes." Narcissa scanned the room until she found a tray with flutes of champagne.
Draco's hand was on the small of Hermione's back as the couple joined his mother and old friend. "What did you say that drove my mother to drinking today, Theo?"
"Nothing that's any worse than the time you got married without inviting her." Theo snapped with a giant grin on his face.
"Speaking of that," Narcissa's grim tone let all of them know that she was nowhere near over the slight. "I confirmed the date with the officiant for your official wedding. Since you're both irretrievably attached to a Halloween anniversary date, it'll be that evening at the Manor."
"You're making a lot out of nothing, Mother. A bonding ceremony is wholly unnecessary." Draco sighed resignedly.
"It is not unnecessary if you want access to any part of your inheritance," Narcissa stated simply.
"Oooooo," Theo cooed under his breath. "Wait, are you two gonna have a proper honeymoon after that ceremony? I bet not. I can't think of anything that would top the broom closet."
"Well, we have eight weeks until Draco's mastery starts and, since his probation is done, we thought we'd do a little traveling." Hermione corrected with a sly grin of her own. "Perhaps a nice beach somewhere."
"Granger, if you are telling me that you and Draco are going to find sun, sand and titties without me, I will pitch a fit right here."
Hermione's laugh was infectious as she watched his serious face study her. "Actually, Draco says there's no point in going without you since apparently you've crashed his vacations before?"
Narcissa nodded her head deeply, "Paris in 1994, Athens in 1995, and Rio in 1995. We finally just got used to the idea that Theodore was going to come and planned accordingly. Lucius is still mad about it."
All four members of the family grinned broadly as Draco said, "Theo, I know you have a plan for where you'd like to go first, so let's hear it."
"Miami!"
"America, uck. No. I had to talk Granger out of living there in the fall. Thank goodness I finally talked Severus into being my Potions master and France was non-negotiable for him."
"I knew it was Sevvy! What a bastard! I asked him about his plans for next year and he told me he'd rather be eaten by a dragon than tell me where I can contact him after we leave Hogwarts."
Draco grimaced at his lack of tact, "Theo, if you tell him I told you…"
"You'll what? Your mother already told you that you were not to threaten me anymore." Theo's fake fatherly tone made Draco's nostrils flare in anger before Theo relaxed his face. "No worries, I won't tell him that you told me."
"Is that you pushing me under The Knight Bus?" Hermione asked while adopting a tone of fake concern.
"Look at the brightest witch of the age!" Theo excitedly held up his glass and nodded it in her direction before he grabbed the back of Draco's arm. "If you ladies will excuse us, we have to go take care of some best men business."
Hermione gave Draco a quick kiss on the cheek as he turned to leave which made Draco blush and Theo beam with pride.
"Mrs. Malfoy, you know I really am so sorry for how everything went down." Hermione started into the apology she had already given Narcissa Malfoy many times now.
"There is no longer a need for all that, Hermione. I never liked Draco's betrothal situation either, you know."
"Theo told me."
"If you don't mind me asking, how exactly did that friendship come about?"
"Theo is quite persistent when he wants something."
"That he is. I assumed that was the case. He made himself a part of our family through sheer force of will. He must have wanted to be part of your family too."
"It would appear that I'll never be free of him," Hermione chuckled as the ladies turned to watch the dance floor as the evening started in earnest.
Narcissa agreed with a deep nod, "Yes, and at times that will be a bit much."
"Just some times?"
The elder Mrs. Malfoy smiled as she continued, "But he has such a good heart. He's a good man and he'll make a great husband in about ten years when he slows down."
The song changed to the instrumental version of "God Save the Queen" as an amplified voice began to speak.
"Ladies and gentlemen, witches and wizards, degenerates and the like…"
Blaise's mother and an angry bride looked around for the source of the voice which Hermione was positive belonged to a certain adopted brother-in-law of hers.
"Today is a very important day. Yes, my best friend married the girl he inseminated with his child…"
The table of older witches to the far wall of the room the reception was being held in shared a look of pure outrage.
"...But it's also the anniversary of the day that rowdy Thomas Jefferson told King George he could shove it."
"Oh no…" Hermione giggled as Narcissa looked at her with wide eyes. "Theo did his final project over the wizarding world's response to The American War of Independence."
"Okay?" Narcissa hissed back as both women looked around for Theo.
Hermione couldn't get it out for two solid minutes as the giggles overcame her sense of self. "Narcissa, he sided with the Americans. He's been obsessed with America the entire time I've known him."
"So what is all this about?"
"I don't know just yet, but I bet there's fireworks before the end of this." Hermione said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I love Theo so much."
Just then, the groom and his best men appeared in one corner of the dance floor. All of them were wearing muggle suits; Blaise's was red, Theo's was white and Draco's was blue. As if to further drive home the point, they were also wearing ties that were covered in the American flag over and over again. Draco made eye contact with Hermione as he looked embarrassed and shrugged his shoulders.
"Oh, dear." Narcissa said as she found a new flute of champagne.
The song changed in that moment to a tune that Hermione wasn't familiar with as Theo put his wand to his throat and began to sing, "If tomorrow all the things were gone I'd worked for all my life and I had to start again with just my children and my wife…"
Narcissa leaned over to her new daughter-in-law as she whispered, "Where is he going with this?"
"It's still too early to tell." Hermione grinned and watched Blaise and Draco awkwardly sway behind Theo who was a bit too into the song.
When Theo got to, "And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm freeeeeee!" Daphne's father and a couple of uncles walked towards him.
The last thing they heard from Theo before he dropped the wand from his neck was, "Oh no! The British are coming!"
